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Lijnders: Fans have right to protest and aren’t to blame

Liverpool fans: Won their battle against ticket prices

Liverpool fans were within their rights to stage a ticket price walkout and were not to blame for the team blowing a 2-0 lead against Sunderland, according to first-team coach Pepijn Lijnders.

Second-half goals from Roberto Firmino and Adam Lallana appeared to have put the Reds in control at Anfield on Saturday but, after thousands of supporters’ left their seats in the 77th minute in protest over the rising cost of attending matches, Sunderland struck back with goals from Adam Johnson and Jermain Defoe to earn a 2-2 draw.

“It is up to us to create a style that gets further and further and, over time, you realise winning is a logical result of development.

“For 82 minutes we played really well. We were good to be honest. We dominated the game, could always find a free player and create spaces between the lines, but in the last 10 minutes we started walking back.

“It is always a collective problem, we drop off too much. The players did excellent, but they know the circumstances.

“We felt we were in control, then one moment changes everything, but there were still eight or 10 minutes where you have to be calm.”